


Reminiscent Shadows

by peachisunshine



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Angst, F/F, Multi, Violence in Later Chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 08:05:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9225971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachisunshine/pseuds/peachisunshine
Summary: This AU explores what might have happened if Blake never returned after the first battle with Roman and the White Fang in Volume 1.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first RWBY fic, so I'm really nervous about posting it. I hope you all like it! Please let me know what you think!

 Well, it had been a good day. Had being the key word here. Until the argument between Weiss and Blake had escalated beyond what anyone had expected.

  
Ruby wasn't sure if she should step in; afraid that one would think she was picking sides with the other. So, she and Yang waited for the two of them to make a compromise. Only they didn't. They fought the entire evening. Ruby couldn't even remember them returning to their dorm, but here they were - Weiss and Blake still bickering between themselves. Until it finally hit a tipping point.

  
"Well maybe, we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake's words remained suspended in the air, as time itself seemed to slow. The raven haired girl immediately realized her mistake, fists unraveling. "I...I..." She tried to form some sort of excuse, some reason. But before any of the other girls could even blink, Blake was already slamming the door behind her.  
   

Ruby was the first to recover. Running after her friend in vain. "Blake wait! Come back!" She was stopped by Yang's comforting hand on her shoulder. Ruby looked up at her older sister, silver eyes filled with worry. But Yang only smiled reassuringly. 

"Just give her some space. I'm sure she'll be back in the morning." 

Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I -" 

Yang's eyes changed several shades, but she wasn't angry enough for them to be completely crimson. "You've caused enough trouble for one night."

  
"But I-" The Heiress looked startled for once.

  
"Weiss, just stop." Yang ran a hand through her bangs and sighed, looking tired as her eyes returned to their normal violet. "Let's all get some rest." And so they continued on with their nightly routine, each teammate getting into their bed and effectively ignoring the empty one.

  
Ruby sat with her knees to her chest, and her Beowolf night mask atop her head. She was scribbling hurriedly into her notebook, hoping that writing down her thoughts would help ease the knot of anxiety in her chest. _Would Blake be ok out of the dorms this late at night? Where would she go? What if she got hurt and couldn't call them?_ So many worst case scenarios swirled within the fifteen year old's mind.

  
But when Yang turned off the light, a signal she needed to actually try to sleep, Ruby slipped her notebook under her pillow. She then delved into the somewhat warm blankets, tucking her feet under them out of habit. She laid awake for several minutes, tossing and turning, trying to get her brain to shut off.  
After a while, she finally just gave up, letting her eyes drift shut. But not before one final thought could cram itself into her consciousness before sleep overtook her.  
_What if Blake never came back?_  
  
The next morning was like any other. The birds outside were chirping happily as sunlight spilled into the room through the slight rifts in the sewn curtains. Ruby's head was already pounding when she woke, due to the lack of sleep and constant nightmares she had during the night. But she yawned, and stretched her aching back. She assumed Blake must have silently slipped back into the room sometime in the night, but when she opened her eyes and cast them on the bed beside her, it was empty.

It hadn't even been touched. 

So, team RWY (Roowey) - as Ruby had been dubbing it in her head - decided to take things into their own hands. They put on their regular hunting gear, readied their weapons, and headed out onto the streets of Vale.  
With Yang on her right, and Weiss on her left, they searched the streets endlessly since that morning. Now it was past noon. Ruby sighed heavily, her shoulders slouching forward in defeat. "I can't believe she's been gone all weekend."

  
"Blake's a big girl. I'm sure she can handle herself." Weiss objected from her left, still being as confident as ever. She didn't even seem worried about Blake's safety at all, which irked Ruby. _Wasn't Weiss supposed to be all about being a team?_

  
"Weiss, come on, she's one of our teammates." Thankfully Yang spoke what Ruby would ever dare to.

  
Weiss' face contorted into a silent snarl. "Is she? We all heard what she said."

  
" _Weiss_ ," Ruby was having difficulty hiding the annoyance on her face. She wanted to say more, but thankfully

Yang interjected before she could say something she might regret.  
"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing and we need to find her."

  
"A member of the White Fang! Right underneath our noses!"

  
Ruby ignored the jab, and besides, by then her anger had faded into a hollow sadness. "I just hope she's ok."

  
A familiar silence fell over the group again, and they continued their search.

 

* * *

  
The battle was over. Even though Torchwick got away, they were still able to stop him and the White Fang from stealing more Dust. Ruby left her spot on the roof of the warehouse, and went down to the shipyard where Sun and Penny were waiting.

  
When she finally joined them, Ruby practically leaped onto her new friend. Part of her was filled with awe, and the other relief that Penny made it out of the battle unscathed. Penny awkwardly returned the hug while Ruby blubbered compliments. "OHMYGOSH Penny that was so cool with the swords and the laser and - everything!"

  
Penny blushed as Ruby finally released the slightly taller girl. "Well, thank you Ruby! I'm just glad everyone is ok!"

  
Sun piped up then, "Yeah, that was a pretty good fight. Next time we see that guy, we're gonna kick his ass! Right Bla - hey, wait a minute, where'd she go?"

  
Ruby felt the blood drain from her face. She was so close. Blake was right there - right in front of her! But she never even had the chance to talk to her about the previous night's events. She somehow willed her legs to move, and the three of them searched around the remaining Schnee cargo - practically screaming Blake's name, hoping she would somehow hear them.

  
Ruby stopped, when something on the ground caught her eye. She kneeled, and gently wrapped her fingers around the black, silk ribbon she knew could only belong to Blake. With a feeling of hollowness settling in her chest, the girl rose to her feet. Tears pricked at her eyes, her shoulders shuddering with silent sobs. That's when Penny and Sun found her again.

  
Sun laid a warm hand on her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"  
Ruby only lifted her arm so that the two of them could see the black ribbon still being clutched in her hand. A quiet "B-Blake..." was all Ruby could manage to say. 

Sun became a mixture of confused and angry then, his blonde tail swishing furiously behind him. "No, this isn't right. Why would Blake just leave again?! Where would she have even gone?!"

  
Penny spoke up with a questioning brow raised. "You mean, she wasn't supposed to get on the Bullhead with that Torchwick man?"

  
Ruby nearly passed out. "Penny, what....what do you mean?"

  
"While we were fighting the White Fang grunts, I saw Blake board the same Bullhead that Roman Torchwick was on, nearly a few seconds after he did."

  
Ruby tugged at her hair in frustration. "Ugh, but why would she do that?! I don't understand any of this!"

  
Sun opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the sound of sirens pierced the air.

* * *

 

After answering every question made by the Vale police to the best of their ability, the trio found themselves sitting on a stack of crates. Ruby shifted the dark earth with the toe of her boot, deep in her own thoughts while Sun and Penny made small talk.  
The sound of two familiar voices approaching them however, snapped Ruby back into reality.

  
"Ruby?" Yang's voice sounded full of worry, but before Ruby could even respond, her elder sister had trapped her in an embrace. "Oh, I was so worried about you! What happened?" Then she pulled away, looking at the scene of the crime, and as well at Sun and Penny. "Where's....where's Blake?"

  
Ruby sniffed, trying to blink fresh tears away. "She...she's gone Yang. I don't know...I don't think, she is coming back."

  
Yang's violet gaze crinkled in confusion and hurt. "But, why -"

  
"I knew it! I told you she was part of the White Fang!" Weiss' voice had hit a pitch Ruby had never heard before. "She's a criminal!" 

Sun jumped to his feet instantly. "Hey, don't say things like that! I talked to Blake for a long time over the weekend, and she doesn't like how the White Fang is being ran! She would never go back to them!"

  
Weiss snarled. "Wouldn't she?! And besides, why would I trust anything you say, you-you rapscallion!"

  
"Because I don't like the White Fang either, why would I help them??"

  
"I..I don't know. But the innocent never run, so why do you think Blake ran? Again!"

  
Yang stepped between the two. "Both of you stop it! Fighting isn't going to get us answers!"

  
"Yang's right." Ruby interjected, standing to her feet. "If we keep fighting like this, it won't make Blake come back. Right now, we should probably go back to Beacon."

  
"Ms. Rose is correct, you three young ladies and Mr. Wukong shall be heading to Beacon immediately, with me." The familiar voice caused Ruby to stiffen, before she turned to meet the heated gaze of Professor Goodwitch. "Preferably, now." There was no questioning the stern woman, so everyone, including Sun quickly followed after her when she began walking away from them.

  
Ruby cast one last glance over her shoulder; hoping maybe Blake would be there, emerging from the shadows. Maybe Penny was wrong. But there was no one.

 _Would she ever see Blake again_?   



End file.
